The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1887-11-03
RATTLESNAKES.
What Old Simon Kent Knows
About Them.
EFisnds o. Hlu. bet Not % Re Trustsd-HIs
ElsVso-TsaF-Oid Pst-What Thsy VII
Rat sad the Fatality Of
Their site.

Their Alte.
'Hes," said Simon Kent, the rattle
snake king" Of Clinton County. whose
home is near the headquarters Of
Paddy's Run. in this township, 81
think know = few things about rat
tlesnakes ought 20. I've lived next
door neighbor 10 them for forty years.
They're friends Of mine, but wouldn't
trust one Of them a single second If he
vas in reach Of ms"
Kent and a siXteen-year-old son live
alone In the woods. The father is s
mAn % intelligence. but spends most Of
his time In capturing rattlesnakes.
which are abundant in his locality.
He has sometimes as many as two
hundred Of these venOmOus reptiles in
captivity AZ one time. He supplies
Uide-shoWs aud museums with live rat
ters, and he has quite trade in tanned
rAttlesnske skins. which are used ex-
tsnsively by manufacturers Of fancy
articles He also cells large quantities
Of rattlesnake oil. faith in ia efficacy as
. liniment being general throughout
this part Of Pennsylvania
I've got a rattlesnake at home"
continued the rattlesnake king. "ihat
have had for eleven years. raised
him from the time he was three inches
long. and I think the world Of him, but
he's got his iangs In. and know that
be would Just a. leave sock them into
ne as into any thing else. / call him
EicOdemuS have learned a good
deal about rattlesnakes in my long ex-
perience with them. but ! have dis
covered more things about them
through Nicodemus than in any other
way. Among other things. I have
y found that the rattlesnake changes It's
skin twice a year-in July and Septem-
ber-and that Il they can't get 70 water
while they're shedding their skin it
viii come Of slowly and in pieces. in
stead Of peellng OF in one whole piece
from head 20 tail. But I've never
caught onto Just how they get the skin
OF. I've gone to bed at night and left
NicOdemus without his showing any
more sign % PeeIing himself than Il
he'd been a stick Of wood, but in the
morning his old clothes would be lying
in Ons corner OF the cage, and he would
Be as bright as an old-fashioned patch
work quilt Ia his new ones
ut is the general impression that
when rattiesnake is shedding his skin
he gets blind. There is no mistake
that his eyes do get covered with a
film At that time. but just put a mouse
in mis- cage and see how quick he'll coil
up and send for il. aud hit il in the
neck every time. A rattlesnake al
WAYS strikes for the neck, and he al
ways strikes his prey before he eats Il;
but you may ill his cage with rats. or
mice. or frogs, or any thing else he
likes. and he n never touch one Of them
unless he's hungry. He kills only
enough for one meal. and when that is
swallowed any thing and every thing
that's left can crawl over him, jump on
him and tumble him around as much
~ il pleases and he'll never say boo.
The rattlesnake is not a wantOn de-
stroyer. nor Is he a gluttOn. Two
mice will make him an ample meal.
hsd my pet rattlesnake ten months be-
fore be pte a m0uihful or drank drop
of any thing. A rattlesuRke has been
known 90 remain fourteen months in
captivity without eating or drinking,
and then all at a sudden begin to End
his appetite. When put Nicodemus
IN his cage at the age Of ten months
put q young dove in with him Now
there isn't any thing on the earth or in
the sir that rStilesnake WON kill and
eat il he's hungry, and"
Except bats. pop" interrupted the
Fattlesnake kings suuburned boy.
oh. yes, except bats. " assented the
king. Il put a bat In Nicodemus'
cage once and thought he'd go crazy.
He coIled himself up in one corner Of
his cage and actually hid his head. All
he'd do was rattle was afraid the
bat would scare the snake to death. 50
took il out Of the cage. ! put the
dove In the cage with NicOdemus just
to see what be would do. That dove
lived with the snake five years I've Of
ten seen Il and Nicodemus asleep to
Eethrr. Sometimes the bird being /
perched on the snake. and some |
tunes wrapped up m us cons
Al the same time the snake !
vas killing birds mice. young /
rabbits snd other things right along. as
its appetite called for. One day the
dove got its head through one Of the |
meshes Ia the woven wire Of the cage, |
and before Il Was discovered the poor
bird Was choked 70 desth like a pleas
ant IN q snare. I got another one 90 |
nearly like the dead dove that no one
could have told EN- apart When ]
NicOdemus was asleep ! put the bird |
IN his cage. The snake woke up along |
in the afternoon. He had hardly got /
his eyes open y hen be sprang At the
dove like a fash Of lightning and made
his supper OF Of her. He knew she
wasn't his old friend thst died.
There Is no telling how long an
animal viii live after being struck BY
rHttlesaake. and il may not die stalL
have known q rat 10 die within SIX /
minutes after Nicodemus set its fangs /
IL its neck. and have known one.
again, % live more than 3 day after
being struck ] turned little bantam
hen into Nicodemus' cage one day.
and when be stuck her Il made
her 50 msd that she drove him
into a corner bleeding like q stuck pig.
I was afraid this excited little fowl
would kill him. and I took her cut IS
sOoa e. I could. She keeled over an
hour afterwards, and / supposed, Of
course. she was done for. with an that
ratlesnaks poison in her. but she lived
three DAYS In q stupor and then gradu-
ally got we'll That was the only in
stance ever knew q any thing re-
covering from the bite Of a rattlesnake
without being treated for the lanisOn-
ing"
Except bar=. -" iHfrTieefsa the
Tslsa .aise > 80 37ee ll7gs,